George and I have tried very hard to be good at recycling, and 'going green'. Here's some of the ways we try to help the environment (and all of US along the way):
-drive a Toyota Prius
-save energy by driving the speed limit (or under)
-using coupons when buying groceries, etc. (also buying store brands and their specials)
-not using our dryer very often (using racks and lines around the house); NOTE: Our community does not allow outside clothes lines.
-seldom use our air-conditioner in summer or our furnace in winter (use fans in summer for cross-ventilation, and wood fires in our fireplace in winter)
-washing clothes in cold water
-have our own compost ---for rich dirt for our roses and flowers
-purchased triple-paned windows and doors a couple of years ago--which help save energy
-recently, because of SUZANNE (click on her name to see her great blog), we finally started using our own reusable bags when we go shopping
-we have different containers so that we can separate items to take to our county recycling center once a week (plastics, cardboard, cold drink cans, paper, etc.)
NOW---after saying all of that , I know that there is still alot more that we could do.. BUT---we do pretty good compared to many folks these days. One thing that really bothers me is that, just recently, our county recycle center has told us that we can only recycle No. 1 and 2 plastics. Good Gosh.... Have you ever tried to take time to check and see which of your plastics have a No. 1 or 2 on them?????? What a hastle.... George says that our county must have a contract with a plastic company that only takes No. 1 and 2 plastics (the heavier ones).
SO---'they' WANT us to recycle. Right????? How many busy people are going to take time to separate plastics??? And now---we are having to throw away (in our garbage) some great plastic items such as cottage cheese or butter containers, or yogurt containers, etc. etc. etc.... We (I'm sure you do also) use ALOT of plastics. We didn't mind recycling plastics ---but now, we have to throw away more than we can recycle. What's up with that????? Anyone know?????? Makes me so upset!!!!!
IF 'they' (the Powers-that-be in our county/country) want us all to recycle, someone had better come up with a better solution... What say you????
Hugs,
47 comments:
I don't think some of the plastics are recyclable...? We recycle as much as possible around here too. We have three UGLY bins on the front porch!
it is truly upsetting. i am sometimes, embarrassed, ms. betsy that my 7-year-old is more recycling conscious than i am. it is a shame. they make seemingly simple things difficult to do.
I think the wood fire vs. furnace is a tie,... your wood fire is putting smoke in the air. But in turn wood is a renewable resource! Our landfill is now taking water bottles for recycling. Of course the others have been accepted for years. I recycle cans, glass, plastic. But drive a Prius? No-can-do,... gotta have that SUV tow vehicle for the camper! And, I'd rather be in something more substantial if I get hit. But they are little cuties, aren't they? I think as long as we all do something to go green, maybe not the same as everybody else, but contribute in whatever way our personal lives can we are all fighting the fight together! Awwww,... and no clotheslines? Nothing smells as good as sheets hung outside. A neat clothes line is a thing of beauty. I didn't know they were being outlawed as unsightly! My cousin's condo rules are you can't have any flowers on your deck that drape over the railing! ACK!
I recycle, myself, Betsy. It's a good thing to do for the environment! I also re-cycled my "cops gone wild" post today, and posted a sequel to it, about our local law enforcement that harassed a young 16 year old boy when he went to air up his tire, tased him, and now he has "terrorist threats" charged on him. His parents are suing the officers. Can't ya just tell it's election time coming up again soon?
Way to go Betsy.
I do my best recycling and am just glad I am retired and have the time to check grades of plastic.
I also recycle my old magazines at the local nursing homes and assisted living facilities. They love them.
Can't afford a Prius but my little Toyota pickup averages 30 MPG when I keep my speeds down, so at least it is not a violent offender.
Wish I could be like Ed Begley, "Living with Ed" but not quite that committed. We do what we can.
I too do some of the same things you do, and currently I'm *trying* to get our building of 225 residents to recycle the plastic gallon water bottles!
They are not listening to me. I use a gallon every day. That's 365 bottles a year!
Yes it's upsetting and I think my buiding administrators should pay more attention to recycling!
I have an electric scooter I drive to the store for groceries, so no need for gas and/or pollution. :)
Happy weekend!
Hugs
Timely and very important post!
I have jotted down some of the good practice for hikers here
I am so happy to see what you and George are doing to help with the enviroment! I am so proud to know you!!! I can't imagine them not taking ALL plastics. We can put any plastic in ours that has the chasing arrows, no matter the number in it. maybe a phone call is in order??? Hopefully, they will come around and take it all...it would pain me to throw it away as well.
ps. next week I have a great 'green' post coming up!!
xoxoxo Suz
The powers that be have made it easier in recent years to recycle. We have weekly curbside pickup of aluminum, plastic, and paper. But no glass!
When we lived in Boynton Beach, they had it going on. Weekly curbside pickup of everything recyclable. You didn't have to sort it. Just put it all in the recycle bin and they would sort it for you. Talk about easy!!
Betsy: It sounds like you are doing a great job, like Darla said some plastics don't recycle well. I try to get as much in our recycle bins as possible.
That's the one thing I miss about living in GA. We recycled lots of things there because the ability was there to do it. Here in MS they don't recycle a lot.
We do manage to recycle our newspapers and some plastic. Unfortunately that is about it.
Our county commisioners cut a lot of funding from the recycling operation. Now unbeknownst to most citizens, the waste is being hauled to an Iowa landfill and buried. Hardly encourages recycling I'd say....
Good for you and George for going green in so many ways. I agree, the sorting of the different plastics does seem like a lot of trouble.
We live outside of the city where trash pick-up is not provided. But fortunately, my neighborhood subscribes as a group to a trash service which includes weekly recycling pick-up. We don't have to separate things, as they all go into one bin.
Hi Betsy, I'm trying to change the way I recycle because my current sorting/storage isn't working out very well. I agree it's a hassle, guess that's why so many people won't do it.
I think it's terrible that you can't dry clothes outside. I'd protest that.
Marnie
We have been recycling for a long time. In the town we lived in before we moved we had to seperate all the plastics 1 thru 7. The most common ones being 1 (clear) and 2 (heavy). We had to also seperate glass (Clear/Green/Brown and No Blue). Their system actually ran very smoothly.
Now where we currently live, we still recycle but all the glass, plastic, cans all get dumped in together. Newspaper and cardboard goes together. It's really a mess, in my honest opinion.
The cloth bags are really popular around here. I use them except once in a while when I forget to put them back in my car!
Have a great day.
Sunny :)
I agree Betsy. I do many of the things that you listed and also compost what I can. I am so proud of you and George for what you are doing for our environment. It's a shame you have to sort the plastics now. I think the sorting thing must be applying to all of the recyclables if not now - soon.
it has gotten to be a big pain to recycle here too. Sometimes I am tempted to just throw it all away without trying.
You're way ahead of me and I applaud you and George, I'm getting there. Our community has been a little slow on this but we need to do it and feel so good when we do. The recyclable sacks subject - I found some snazzy sacks at Safeway for $1.00 and I love the size. They aren't so deep thus they aren't so heavy filled. IF I COULD JUST REMEMBER TO BRING THEM INTO THE STORE WITH ME! The girl fills the plastic bag while I stand there talking with somebody and get outside and realize I forgot to use them - again!
Thanks for your nice comment on my blog last. Have a good trip.
i get really frustrated that there isnt a way of recycling waste where i live. everything just get throws in one big dump. i am trying to get something organised at work so that we at least look at recycling paper (and not only reusing).
Great job! Like Susie, I live in MS, but in a different city --- we are lucky enough to have curbside recycling every two weeks of everything except glass. We can recycle all plastics with a number on them. I love it, though I would recycle just as much if I had to sort and take it some where.
*We* are now able to recycle all plastics except for # 5 (or is it 7 -- I always have to check)! Before, it was only 1 or 2. I feel your pain! :D :D
Good for you two!
Guess what! Ever since last spring, it's illegal for a community in Ontario to outlaw clotheslines.
There's not much recycling out here in the boonies. I recycle aluminum cans and that's about it. It's a challenge to go green which is sad because we are just generating too much stuff!
Great post!
We don't have recycle pick up, so we have to take it ourselves. The containers are always overflowing and we can't drop it off.(the containers are at different locations such as the dog pound, walmart etc.) So now we drive around with 'trash' in our cars and drop if off when we see it is empty.
Hi Besty...
I now live back in a condo and we DO have recycling containers. What they won't take here I just take the rest of it to our 'Town Dump'. They seem to take everything under the Sun...
I'm very surprised that each state has different recycling laws. I know when my oldest daughter was in Alabama she felt terrible so she ended bring home Plastic Bottles...How's that for GUILT???
Great to know a Lot of people are doing their Best...
Always...Marilyn
Well, I think we are still talken green here..but it is more like money talks!!...I think, like your hubby said, your county has gotten in between some green sheets with a recycling com..and it's not to benefit Mother Earth!! :(
Good for you, Betsy.
We recycle, use cloth bags--I've had three of them for 18 years.
I want a Prius, but my Honda still gets good mileage so we try to combine trips to cut down or the running around for errands. We plot the errands in order from fartherest away to closest, and save up the tasks for one afternoon to do them together.
We are switching all of our lights to CF, growing more of our own veggies (even in MN) and during our remodel this year, we installed a geothermal heating and cooling system. It even heats some of our hot water.
One thing we are trying to do is buy fewer things is plastic packaging. It's hard, but worth it. We also reuse as many glass jars and bottles as possible.
Happy Friday,
Fiona
You seem to being doing a lot better job than we are, but we're getting there. They dryer is an issue since we have teenagers plus they play soccer, so those unifrms need to be washed and dried in a hurry. i really rey with the gricery bags, but I seem to forget them in my car way too much.
I love that you are recycling.
I'm a big recycler too.
We have curbside recycling here, but they only take #1 and #2. So I have to take the others to our county recycle station. They will take them all.
I'm glad your using reusable bags now.
Are you and George growing any veggies in that beautiful yard of yours?
♥
Joy
Every litter bit helps, Betsy.
We all must do what we can to erase our carbon footprints. And help clean and green what we can...
We've been 'green' long before it became the thing to do! My mother set a great example. Wear a sweater, don't turn up the heat in winter! Turn off the lights in the rooms you're not using. Lots of things can be used for making crafts - with children, at the nursing home. We have a 'freebie' table in the basement of our apartment - my white elephant may be someone's treasure!I'm sure the suggestions are endless! Our city now takes the gallon milk jugs and 2 quart containers too at the recycle depot. It's good that we can all do our part - every little bit helps!
Betsy,
I try my best to recycle trash, also. I try to be green as much as possible for the sake of our environment. Glad you are doing your part to keep the earth green.
I agree to you that the recycling process should be more supported by our governments. Plastic trash has increased a lot lately and should be managed well. Have a wonderful weekend, Betsy. Hugs and love :)
The plastic thing drives me nuts too. Here, much of the time the recyclers won't even take glass (too far to ship it). I like the European system, where manufacturers are tagged with "cradle to grave" responsibility. E.g. in schools, there are no trash cans: paper goes in paper recycling bins, food scraps go in slop buckets for pigs, if you have anything to throw away you must carry it home with you.
But, much like health care, I don't know if we'll ever see a system that works.
I'm ashamed to say this almost, but I don't recycle, or not much anyway. It is a 30 minute drive one way to recycle anything. I have started saving aluminum cans because there is a place close by for them now. I now buy my laundry detergent in powder form, and may eventually make my own. (you would not believe how many plastic bottles that eliminates for me!) I really don't have much plastic anyway....we don't drink much milk, drink water from the tap, my newspapers are given to this animal shelter...so maybe I do recycle. and if Lorelei isn't here and the weather cooperates I hang clothes part of the time. Hanging out laundry is one of my favorite jobs.
And as for plastic bags, you are going to laugh, but my husband wants all the ones I don't reuse...I reuse them to line small garbage cans, etc. He uses them as a filler for archery targets.
We too like to recycle as much as possible.Sometimes those in power do not think very far,when making the rules.Good luck.
Blessings,Ruth
We have recycled for many, many years. We too can only recycle #2 plastics, at least at our local landfill. I hate to throw away all that plastic, am trying to use a stainless steel bottle on our hikes. It is easy to grab a plastic bottle of water but its not good for the earth!
Wow! You all do an amazing job of conserving!!!
I'm lucky - it all goes into 1 bin for plastics/glass and then another for paper/cardboard.
Betsy - I think its admirable what you and George do!! In fact you gave me some new ideas! I love using my recyclable grocery tote bags (I made some w/ my bird photos and get lots of compliments on them when I go to the grocery store - they probably think I'm a crazy bird lady! LOL!)
I didn't know there was a number 1 and number 2 plastic. Where do you find the number?
If 'they' want people to recycle, 'they're' gonna have to do better than making us separate the plastic by numbers!! That would make me so mad I'd just throw the plastic in the trash. Now, I don't think that would be their objective ! Sheesh.
Oh....that's terrible!!!! We still get to recycle all of our plastics. I can't imagine just throwing them in the garbage any more.
We've always only been able to recycle 1's and 2's. All plastics aren't alike. Mike thinks that the 1's and 2's can be mixed easily with other stuff to make new things. Others can't and you end up with nothing usable from them. There may be others that could be used, but they might not be cost effective to recycle them. You get used to knowing which are the right ones after a little trial and error. We just have to do the best we can despite the effort because it is the right thing to do. I have to throw away glass, because none of the local places take it. I hate that.
good golly miss molly...they do need to stop the madness and accept all the plastics. we do all of what you do except drive a prius(only american made cars here) and the a/c...have to have it on.
We are the same on the No. 1 and 2 plastics and like you I wish they would take more. I also throw away more plastic than I can recycle. I have been trying to cut down on plastic usuage but so many things come package in plastic.
What really bugs me is our city recently changed the company they contract with for recyclables and now they won't take glass. I cut back on plastic and now have more glass and they won't take it. Very frustrating.
Judy
Sounds like you're doing a great job in going green where possible. Does seem silly to discourage recycling by being so picky.
Well done Betsy and George for going green. I've been recycling for over fourteen years and encourage my married children to do the same. (My boys lived in my home and saw it, so now do it! lol) I've run rc campaigns, had competitions for the schools, incorporated it in my garden talk in May this year. I've employed jobless men for a day and cleaned up the town. Still only I and my married children recycle. Hoo, Betsy, you've motivated me to do the post I've been shelving for ages. Hugs Jo xxx
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